Panama Canal's struggling water levels prompt global shipping giants like Maersk to resort to railways

The severe drought prompting this restriction is so grave that officials are contemplating artificially induced rain. Nonetheless, until water levels recover, the canal can only admit fewer and smaller vessels, primarily affecting the United States, China, Japan and Europe, who greatly rely on this route as the shortest path to South America's west coasts.

Maritime behemoths are thus searching for alternatives. However, that's no easy feat due to disruptions caused by Yemeni fighter attacks on cargo ships traveling through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, intended to put international pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops from Gaza.

Maersk, a Danish company that previously halted its Suez Canal operations, is now reconsidering its use of the Panama Canal. The company now prefers to transfer cargo to Panama's railways to avoid canal delays,- according to Reuters.

The Danish shipping giant stated, "The vessels that utilised the Panama Canal before will now omit the Panama Canal and use a 'land bridge' that utilises rail to transport cargo across the 80 km (50 miles) of Panama to the other side," as conveyed by Reuters.

The company further disclosed that transportation times for cargoes between Australia, New Zealand, and the US eastern cities of Philadelphia and Charleston will undoubtedly be extended.

Meanwhile, a German economic institute revealed that the Houthi fighter attacks in the Red Sea have resulted in only about 200,000 containers passing through this route daily, a significant drop from 500,000 in November 2023.